Taking Control of One's Future: Ranma in a World of Ninjas
by SaurusRock625
Summary: After Nodoka finds about about all of the dishonorable things that Genma has done on his training trip with Ranma, including all of the sick and inhumane training methods he used on her only child, she and Ranma leave the Nerima Ward for good. But upon falling through a portal to another universe, the two find their true purpose as ninjas of the Hidden Leaf Village. (Female Naruto)
1. Chapter 1

_***I don't own Ranma ½, and I don't own Naruto either!***_

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_**Dialogue Key**_

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"I hate that fat, gluttonous panda!" = Regular Speech

'_Freedom at long last!' = Someone Thinking_

"CURSE YOU, SAOTOME!" = Someone Yelling

"**Shadow Clone Jutsu!" = Demon & Summon Speaking**

'_**Shadow Clone Jutsu!' = Demon & Summon Thinking**_

"**SHADOW CLONE JUTSU!" = Demon & Summon Yelling**

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_**Meeting Mom**_

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"Hey, Pop! Ain't we supposed ta be trainin' today?"

This is the call that resonated through the Tendou Household as one of its current residents, Saotome Ranma, was busy looking for everyone. His father usually wakes him up in a very harsh manner by literally throwing him out the window for training right at the crack of dawn, so for Ranma to have actually been allowed to, by his lifestyle, sleep in, the boy was understandably on edge. Especially since this could be a ploy set up by his fat panda of a father. Ranma's literally all alone in this house.

His father and the Tendou patriarch, Soun, aren't at their usual place on the porch playing Shogi and drinking booze. Nabiki isn't in her room plotting to exploit everyone around her using her little mafia style powerbase like she usually is on weekends. That un-cute tomboy, Akane, isn't in the dojo breaking bricks with her fists like she always does in the mornings. Even the eldest Tendou daughter, Kasumi, bless her soul, is missing. Although it looks like she left Ranma a nice warm breakfast before going to wherever it is everyone's gone. And that's when Ranma noticed it. A folded piece of paper next to the food.

Calmly walking to the table, Ranma picked up the paper and unfolded it to reveal a note. Now, because of his walking stomach of a father, Ranma isn't exactly the sharpest tool in the shed. But ever since starting school in Nerima he's begun to get better at reading and writing. Enough to where he can read this note perfectly.

_'Dear Ranma-Kun,'_

_'After stopping your father from waking you up in his usual way, I tried to wake you up so you could come with us on a training trip that father decided to take Akane on to help her improve as a martial artist (Kami-Sama above knows she needs it…), but you wouldn't budge. I've prepared a month's worth of meals for you since we'll be gone that long. See you in one month.'_

_'Love, Kasumi.'_

_'P.S., Try not to destroy the house and dojo while we're away. I know it will be hard with all of your so-called rivals hunting you down, plus your other fiances trying to marry and/or murder you, but please try.'_

When Ranma finished reading that part of the note, he noticed more written at the very bottom in red ink. He could tell from the handwriting that Akane, the un-cute tomboy, had written this part of the note. And from how scraggly it looks, she wrote it in a hurry. It may be a little hard to read, but it's still legible enough that Ranma can plainly see what it says. Especially considering that his own handwriting is worse than a drunk monkey's.

_'WA HA HA HA HA! NOW, I'LL SHOW RANMA NO BAKA THAT I AM THE STRONGEST MARTIAL ARTIST IN THE ENTIRE WORLD! NOT THAT STUPID, PERVERTED, GENDER-CHANGING HENTAI, ME! WA HA HA HA HA! Oops... Did I write all of that down instead of thinking it by accident? Sorry (Not!).'_

_'-Akane Tendou.'_

Ranma just stared at the note with a blank expression. That girl really is delusional if she thinks that a month of training, if Soun actually takes it seriously, will make her stronger than him then Akane is in for a great big slap of reality to the face. Ranma has trained for eleven years in martial arts, ever since he was five years old and under a much harsher regime than simply breaking bricks with his fists, beating wooden dummies, and jogging. While these exercises may be good for losing weight, building strength, and increasing stamina, they won't get you anywhere as a real martial artist. Not to mention the fact that Akane only ever really uses that oversized mallet of hers in a fight. Especially when things don't go her way.

She's no true martial artist. She's nothing more than a petty little thug. And yet his fat panda of a father, Genma, just HAD to engage him to that girl. For family honor, he claimed. How can Genma possibly claim anything about honor, when he has none to speak of? He's put so many smears on the Saotome family's honor that it's just about nonexistent at this point. Honestly, Ranma would rather marry Kasumi if he had a choice. At least she doesn't solve all of her problems by trying to cave everyone's skull in whenever she's mad, and her cooking isn't the equivalent of nuclear waste. He'd even prefer to marry Ukyo or, heck, even that Amazon girl, Shampoo, if it didn't mean he would be reduced to a servant while she remains the warrior as her village's custom dictates.

Ranma just sighed and ran a hand through his hair. It seems like he might finally get a chance to rest and relax for a change. He was about to go sit down and watch TV when there was a knock at the door.

"Be right there!" he called out.

Fast walking to the living room, Ranma quickly answered the door to reveal somebody he doesn't recognize.

Standing at the door is a woman who looks to be in her mid to late twenties, but in reality is in her late thirties to early forties. She has a similar skin tone to Ranma in his female form, brown hair, brown eyes, and is wearing a woman's battle kimono with an ornate katana tucked into the sash. Upon seeing Ranma, the woman looked as though she'd seen a ghost. This struck Ranma as odd, since most people only get that look AFTER they witness one of his many fights. Especially ones concerning a certain pig boy with a heavy umbrella and absolutely no sense of direction.

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Speaking of Ryouga, the Lost Boy was currently deep in the heart of the Amazon jungle running from various beasts. Most of which would kill you and eat you for lunch if given the chance. Snakes, bears, and jaguars make up the bulk. With alligators and crocodiles, OH MY!

"CURSE YOU, RANMA SAOTOME! THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT, YOU HONORLESS BASTARD!" Ryouga yelled to the heavens as he continued to run.

The pig boy yelped in fear as a crocodile almost managed to chomp down on his behind before he started running faster. But the animals remained right on his tail.

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Back at the Tendou home, Ranma got the strangest feeling that somebody totally unimportant to his life is currently cursing his very existence. He just shrugged it off as part of the usual weirdness that goes on around the Nerima ward. After all, it wouldn't be the first time something like that happened.

"Hello. Can I help you?" Ranma asked as he attempted to be polite.

He figures that it's better to try and be a good host to this stranger rather than be his usual self, which most people would categorize as a totally uneducated caveman. And Ranma admits that with his own lack of schooling and more barbaric nature, they probably wouldn't be too far off. He grew a little agitated as this strange woman began tracing his face with her hands, as though she were trying to commit every nook and cranny of his face to memory.

Her expression is one of recognition, sadness, relief, and joy all at once. A set of emotions that set off alarm bells in Ranma's head as he suddenly started hoping that this woman isn't somebody else that Genma engaged him to. He's already got enough problems with Shampoo, Ukyo, and even that crazy ass bitch, Kodachi, all trying to kill each other over him because of Genma's dishonorable actions! Although, Kodachi is just plain crazy and obsessed with him, so it's hard to really tell what her motivation is. And, thinking about it, Ranma doesn't want to know what goes on in THAT crazy girl's head. Not with how crazy the rest of her family is.

It's surprising that the Kuno's haven't been locked away in a funny farm by now. Everyone knows that they're all completely off their rockers.

Finally, the mystery woman spoke up.

"It's you…! It's really you!" the woman said in an almost breathless voice.

"Uh, should I… should I know you?" Ranma asked uneasily.

"No. Probably not. You were merely five when you left with Genma." she replied with sad eyes full of guilt and… maternal love? "But a mother never forgets."

Ranma's eyes widened as long buried memories began to surface. It took only about five seconds for all of those memories to play through his head as Ranma realized just who this woman really is.

"Mom?"

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_*****To Be Continued…*****_

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_**Well, that escalated quickly. Anyway, I know we haven't gotten to the Naruto portion of the story, but that's all going to come about in the next chapter. And you'll all see how. If you enjoy this story, go ahead and favorite this story and be sure to follow it if you want to see more. Leave a review on your way out, too, if you don't mind. And as always, I'll see you in my next update! Buh-Bye now!**_


	2. Chapter 2

_***I don't own Ranma or Naruto!***_

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_**Mother/Son Talks**_

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Nodoka sat at the table as Ranma was busy boiling water in an attempt to make tea. He knows how to use a stove well enough, but from what Nodoka is observing, it doesn't look like he's ever had to cook anything more complicated than roasting it over an open fire. As proven by how her son was staring at a box of tea leaves in his hands.

"How many leaves do you use to make tea?" he asked himself in a low voice. "We have plenty of tea leaves here, but I don't know how to make tea. I've never had to."

"Ranma, sweetie, if you need my help you just have to…"

Nodoka was cut off from finishing her sentence when Ranma turned around with a measuring spoon in hand. But it had almost the entire box of tea leaves poured into it. Clearly, the boy has no idea how to measure ingredients.

"This much?" he asked.

"Actually, that would be considered too much…" Nodoka said with an anime sweat drop on the back of her head.

She knew that Genma was never really one to actually do the cooking, preferring to do much more of the eating, actually, but she didn't think her husband would be so focused on teaching their son how to fight that he'd neglect teaching him basic culinary arts. Sighing as she stood up, the Saotome matriarch walked into the kitchen and began to help her son make the tea. She thought it was too bad that there don't seem to be any snacks to go with the tea, but she doesn't mind since she gets to spend some time bonding with her child for the first time in eleven years.

"So tell me, Ranma, how was your training trip with your father?" Nodoka asked genuinely curious. "After the first month of your trip, your father stopped sending me letters and I got worried about whether you were alive or not. The only reason I knew where to find you was because I heard about Genma living with the Tendou family from a friend of mine who owns an ice cream shop here in Nerima."

Ranma scoffed as he sipped his tea, relishing the warm yet slightly bitter taste, and said "Training trip? Please. It was more like a mobile homicide scam attempt!"

"Ranma…!" Nodoka gasped at her son's words. "I understand that the training may have been harsher than it should have been, but that's no reason to use such words! Your father…"

"THAT BASTARD DON'T DESERVE TA BE CALLED A DAD!" roared Ranma as he slammed his fist on the table, scaring Nodoka at just how much anger she was feeling from the young man. "You have no idea what I've been through because of Gemma and his plotting! Did you know that not even one day into our 'training trip' he sold me to some guy for a bowl of rice, two fish, and a few pickles? And then stole me back that same night? Or how about how he engaged me multiple times to different girls under varying circumstances? Oh! Wait a minute! How about the time he took me to the cursed Jusenkyo hot springs, thinking they were a secret training ground because he didn't bother listening to the translator, and causing both of us to fall into different springs and become cursed to change into different things with a splash of cold water!"

Ranma was huffing and puffing at the end of his little outburst, not caring that he'd just poured his heart out to his mother like he just did. He just chalked it up to his female half managing to break through for just a moment, as she's more emotionally sensitive than he is. Nodoka had a look on her face that was one of fear, surprise, anger, and confusion all rolled into one. The woman, though mostly calm on the outside, took a moment to calm her raging emotions and placed a hand on her son's shoulder.

"Ranma, sweetie, I think you should tell me the whole story. If what I'm hearing is true, then your father is going to be in for real hell when he gets back." Nodoka said.

Calming himself down as he understood that acting out of anger was not going to help him in this situation, Ranma started to explain the whole training trip to his mother, and the multiple scams his father pulled. From stealing food and techniques from various other martial arts schools, to engaging him time and time again to various women. Nodoka looked like she was going to have a heart attack when Ranma mentioned how Genma trained him in endurance and stamina by having him continuously chased by a cannibal when he was eight years old, and it was just as bad when he mentioned the Neko-Ken training which resulted in Ranma having a crippling fear of all things feline. When he got to the Jusenkyo part of his story, Nodoka was just plain curious about one thing. The cursed themselves.

"You said yourself and your father transform as a result of cold water being splashed on you, yes?" Nodoka asked, getting a nod from her son. "What exactly do the two of you transform into?"

"I fell into the Spring of Drowned Girl while Pops fell into the Spring of Drowned Panda Bear. So cold water will make us turn into a girl and a panda respectively, and hot water turns us back to normal."

Upon seeing the skeptical look on his mother's face, Ranma knew that she wanted proof of this. So he got up and went to the sink to fill up a cup with cold water. Then he dumped the whole thing over his head and transformed right before Nodoka's eyes. The older woman couldn't believe her eyes! Her son has just transformed into a young woman with beautiful red hair, and a figure that reminds her of her own when she was that age.

"Is this proof enough?" Ranma, or rather, Ranko, asked.

Nodoka just nodded numbly as she watched the girl take the kettle off the stove, which was being used to boil some water, but she was able to react quick enough to prevent her from dumping the scalding hot water all over herself. Goodness knows that would be a very painful experience. One that Nodoka is assuming her son has gone through multiple times since receiving his curse. Instead, she took the kettle and poured some water into a glass before dropping a couple of cubes of ice into the water. This helped it to cool down to a point where it wouldn't be scalding hot, but would hopefully be warm enough to reverse the effects of the curse.

Fortunately, it seems like she guessed right, much to her child's relief as the warm water helped to reverse the curse and turn Ranma back to normal.

"Well… I can see that you're telling the truth. But this poses a slight problem." Nodoka said.

As her son looked at her with a questioning look, she reached into her kimono and pulled out a yellowed piece of paper. The paper itself looked to be very old and worn out. She carefully unfolded the paper to reveal what looks like a contract. Though Ranma can't make out the words very clearly he can very well see his father's signature as well as a small handprint. The signature looks to be written in blood while the handprint is clearly fingerpaint.

"What's that?" Ranma asked.

"It's the reason your curse has made this a little bit difficult. You know how Genma took you on that training trip, but what you don't know is that I didn't want him to take you. You were only a small child at the time of his idea to take you on that trip, and I wanted you to be able to experience a real childhood with all of the things that come with it. And yes, this would include that whole childhood cliche where you accidentally break someone's window with a baseball. But Genma was adamant about making you the strongest man alive, and convinced me to let you go on that trip. However, I added a stipulation to his little trip." Nodoka explained as she handed the paper to Ranma. "What I have here is a Seppuku Pledge that your father had signed in order to take you on your training trip. The stipulation was that he would use the trip to turn you into a man among men, or commit seppuku to restore his and our family's honor. But once you two had left it wasn't a month before he mailed the pledge back to me with your handprint on it."

Ranma grew ghostly white at the implication of what this meant. He turns into a girl when splashed with cold water, which means he can't fully hold up his end of the pledge and will be forced to commit seppuku because of his cowardly excuse for a father. Nodoka was quick to reassure him though.

"Calm yourself, Ranma. The seppuku pledge never applied to you. You were only five years old at the time and didn't even know what it was you were signing. I'm not going to bind you to a contract that your father had no business making you sign in the first place!" Nodoka said before smiling and running a hand through Ranma's hair. "Besides, as far as I can tell, despite his deplorable methods, Genma did succeed in turning you into a man among men. Although, we will need to make him pay for his numerous crimes against you, the martial artists of the world, and everyone else he's ever scammed in life. That will be the tricky part."

Standing up, Nodoka smoothed out her kimono and made for the door.

"For now though, it's getting close to lunch time. Why don't you show me around town and show me where to find a good meal around here?"

Ranma grinned and nodded. If there's one thing he knows, it's that food fixes everything. He's definitely going to enjoy bringing his mother to his favorite places in Nerima. Namely Ucchan's and even Shampoo's restaurants. He just hopes that the two of them can stop fighting for one day. He doesn't want his mother to get caught in the crossfire if they do, much less have to run into crazy Kodachi and her equally loony brother.

After all, it's like trouble just continues to follow him wherever he goes.

Like some kind of sick joke the universe makes just to get a laugh.

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_*****To Be Continued…*****_

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_**I know that I said the Naruto portion of this story would show up in this chapter, but I wanted to show more of Ranma's interactions with his mother instead. But anyway, if you enjoyed the chapter, be sure to fave and follow the story and I'll see you all in my next update! Buh-bye now!**_


	3. Note (VERY IMPORTANT! READ PORFAVOR!)

_Just to set the record straight, this story is NOT abandoned! Even if I haven't updated it for a while, it's not abandoned. I'm working to make the next chapter as long as possible while trying to keep a realistic pacing of events in the story. And coming up with dialogue for characters in a story while also trying to find workable scenarios for story plot is not an easy thing to do, let me tell ya! Plus, I'm trying to decide who else should eventually go to the Naruto universe with Ranma and Nodoka when the time comes. Out of all the characters from Ranma that I LIKE, or can at the very least TOLERATE, here's who I've narrowed it down to, and why._

_**Kasumi Tendo: **__As a character, I really like Kasumi. She's kind and friendly to everyone, she takes the time to listen to their problems, and she's sacrificed so much for her family by becoming a stereotypical housewife type of woman. And she's been studying medicine because, if I remember correctly, she wanted to be a nurse and help heal people. I see her with a great future as the successor to Tsunade Senju and another powerful combat medic ninja. I might even gift her with the Wood Release bloodline and have her able to pass it on to her children. Out of the three Tendo sisters, Kasumi is the only one of them that I actually like._

_**Kodachi Kuno: **__Now I know what you're probably thinking: "Why choose this crazy bitch?", or "Have you lost your frickin' mind? She'll kill Ranma and drive everyone insane!". Yes, I know that like all of the Kunos that we've seen, Kodachi isn't exactly all there in the head. But that got me to thinking… why have we never seen Kodachi and Tatewaki's mother? Is she so insane that she was hauled away to a funny farm? I personally think she may have died when Kodachi and her brother were very young, but still old enough to remember. And her insanity could be a mere mask to hide a teenage girl who is hurting deeply on an emotional level. And with her skill with those gymnastics themed weapons and even with various poisons, I can see her becoming either a weapons mistress like Tenten, or even a Poison Specialist. Besides that, I don't think there are any Ranma/Kodachi pairing stories out there(correct me if I'm wrong), so I'll be having her as part of the pairing with Ranma here._

_**Shampoo(Xian-Pu):**_ _Out of the entire Fiancee Brigade, Shampoo is the one that I've always had a soft spot for. She strikes me as someone who could have been a loving wife to Ranma, and caring mother to their children if these two truly got hitched. And if she wasn't so steeped in the traditions and ideals of the Amazon village that she was born and raised in. Plus she is a capable warrior, and would make a valuable addition to Konohagakure's ninja forces. With her Amazon training I can see Shampoo becoming an exceptional weapons specialist due to her skills with the various weapons such as a spear, a dao, a bow & arrow, and a variety of polearms including a monk's spade that we've seen her use when fighting to win Ranma's affections. Especially the use of her trademark weapon, the chui. Also, I like stories where Ranma is paired with Shampoo, so that's another plus in my book._

_So there you have my reasons for wanting to take my time with the new chapter of the story. And I apologize if I'm not updating as often as some of you may like, but I'm only human. And my work schedule doesn't always leave me with enough free time to do any decent writing for any of my stories. Add in that I'm plagued by plot bunnies, meaning story ideas that are just too tempting not to write, and you've got a recipe for an author who has a plethora of unfinished and poor quality stories._

_But you've heard what I've got to say. I will be working on the real third chapter for this story, I'm gonna try to get it to at least… 5000+ words not including the author's notes and dialogue key, so I hope when that's out it'll tide you all over. Thank you all for taking the time to read this note from yours truly, and I'll see you all next time. Please note that I will delete this Author's Note once I've finished the third chapter and am ready to upload it. So don't be surprised if you see this chapter appear again._

_That is why I say this to you all…_

_**DON'T**_ _REVIEW THIS CHAPTER!_


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